The article “Peering Into The Future of Media,” written by Eric Pfanner, he writes on how technology is constantly getting better and better with every year. He starts off in the year of 2023 or 2033, where when a person wakes up, their pajamas takes them through their morning routine. So, could this happen in the future for us? Will we be able to have pjs that help us with our morning routine? Pfanner states, “Predicting the outcomeof a revolution is a fool’s game. Still, a few things are clear, even today, about the changes we are living through in the world of information, entertainment and communications” (Pfanner). No one really knows if all of these futuristic technologies will be created, but with how technology is changing every year, I think that we will have some sort of technology where it will help us drive our cars, help us in the morning, etc.

The future is unknown, and with the technologies that are in the world now, anything is possible pretty much. The Internet is even growing as well; with more people coming into the world, and how people are going towards using more technology, such as smart phones, etc., the Internet is going to become an essential that everyone needs from wanting their information right there and then.

With having more and more technologies coming into the world every year, more and more people are going to be able to use the Internet, and have more capabilities to use more technology; from this, the Internet is growing, and with the increasing use of smart phones, iPads, etc., more demands for the Internet will come, and from this, people are going to be able to get their information whenever and wherever they want.

I agree with you on that we have come a long way in the last three years, and will hopefully have more and new technologies for the hearing and visually impaired students and people around the world. The article went through on how the student, Jordan Moon, had a tough time with how everything was mostly in print, and that it should have been more accessible to him because of him being visually impaired. Hopefully within the future, there will be more technology that is accessible to those who have hearing or are visually impaired to help them succeed in and out of school. These new technologies are coming into the world every year, and are being brought to those who need it to have a more successful life, especially if they are in school. Overall, I agree with you on how new technology is coming around with new ways of helping the hearing and visually impaired.

The Carroll Center for the Blind is making new strides for making new technologies for the blind; these new technologies are things such as Microsoft Office software, iPhone software, etc. With these new technologies, the visually impaired are going to have an easier time with learning, and seeing the things that they once could not see. There are even events, such as Apple Mondays where they have classes for the visually impaired in order for them to learn more about the way the software works. The Carroll Center for the Blind is trying new ways of helping those who do not have the capability to have the many technologies that are out there for the visually impaired. This center is helping those who can’t get to the technology, and is helping those who want to succeed in school, and in their future; the Carroll Center for the Blind is all for helping the visually impaired, and with this, they want a successful future for those who do not have the capabilities of being able to have the technologies that are out in the world today.

Within the article, Disability Rights Advocates Press for Accessible Technology, written by Kimberly Railey, she states, “As colleges have increasingly embraced digital learning, students with disabilities have faced many challenges due to inaccessible learning materials, a 2011 federal study found. Of the roughly 2.1 million U.S. college students with some type of disability, about 63,000 have visual impairments” (Railey). From being in class with a visually impaired student, I was able to take notes for her during class; this helped her because it was easier for her to listen instead of watching the teacher. Many students that are visually impaired have trouble with computers as well. The computer screen can be difficult for the visually impaired student to look at, and with the different medias that are within the computer screen, the visually impaired student has to have accommodations in order for them to actually have the feel for what is on the computer.

“Even if there is accessible technology on campus, it may not always be readily available” (Railey); even if there are software programs to assist the visually impaired students, sometimes it is hard to actually have a grasp and be able to get that technology for them to use for school and class. Also from learning a lot of the visually impaired student that was in my class, she can read brail in a fast and efficient manner to where she speeds through the readings. The readings we had to do on the computer was difficult for her because of how the computer screen is hard for them to see, so she had everything printed out in brail, and I wrote her notes for her during the lecture and discussion in class.

The visually impaired should have more opportunities for them in order to have a greater success in school and even out of school. With having more technologies opening up for the visually impaired, especially in school and in colleges, there will be more students that will be able to have a full education, and it will be easier for them to read on and/or off of the computer screen. Overall, the visually impaired should have more technologies that help them with their education, and these technologies should be more at hand for these students to further their success in life and in school.

For your heuristic, I agree with you on most of it; maybe some changes could be made. Some of the vocabulary could be changed, such as unencumbered, and phrases like “The project’s efficacy…” Overall, I think that this heuristic that you have created touches on everything that a project should have, such as audience, content, and core. All of these parts of the heuristic show what a good project should have in it. I think you did a good job with creating this heuristic, and with some changes, it would be the one we use in class.

You state, “I definitely don’t think computers or the internet have decreased our capacity to do anything. I believe these tools greatly expand what we are able to accomplish individually as human beings and as a collective society;” I agree with you on how the technology within the world today “expands” what we are able to do on a daily basis. On the other hand, I do think that the Internet and computers have just a little bit, changed how we think and do things now. I think you have many good points within your post, but I do feel as though technology has changed the way we think and do our daily life things.